"A perfume without memory is a body without soul."
- Aanchal Malhotra, The Book of Everlasting Things
Oral historian Aanchal Malhotra's first work of fiction, The Book of Everlasting Things, revolves around a lesser-known Indian craft tradition - that of the country's ancient, indigenous perfumery.
Despite sourcing and supplying nearly half of the world's most sought-after fragrant ingredients like sandalwood, rose water, jasmine oil, and oud or agarwood, which are essential to the art of making perfumes, India's place in the perfume world remains relatively obscure.
A Craft Tradition At A Crossroads
Although mass-produced homegrown perfumes have gained a significant share of the domestic market in recent years, India's traditional artisanal perfume industry remains both visible and invisible. Once favoured by emperors, the number of artisanal Indian perfumeries have dwindled from over 700 family-owned ateliers in the 20th century to less than 200 today. While Indian perfumers supply the building blocks of luxury perfumery - essential oils, absolutes, and botanicals - across the world, their own products like roohs and attars remain confined to local markets, religious use, or niche collectors. Today, the Indian perfume industry is at a crossroads. Their survival depends not only on the knowledge of skilled artisans but on the growing interest of a global audience ready to look beyond the bottle and into the process. The only question is: are they?
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